


Birth Day

by icandrawamoth



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Babies, Birth, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hospitals, Married Couple, Newborn Children, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 20:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17050373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: One might have thought that after the Treasure Planet adventure, Dr. Delbert Doppler would have been a different person. Less unsure of himself, more brave. One might have thought he'd be the type of person for whom hearing that his new wife is pregnant wouldn't seem like the most terrifying thing in the galaxy.





	Birth Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reighchama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reighchama/gifts).



One might have thought that after the Treasure Planet adventure, Dr. Delbert Doppler would have been a different person. Less unsure of himself, more brave. One might have thought he'd be the type of person for whom hearing that his new wife is pregnant wouldn't seem like the most terrifying thing in the galaxy.

But none of that turns out to be true, because here he is, staring at Amelia with his mouth open as she looks back at him, the hint of a smirk at the corners of her mouth.

“You'll catch flies,” she says.

Delbert snaps his mouth shut. After a moment, he opens it again and croaks, “I don't know what to say.”

Amelia smiles at him and beckons him forward. “Say you're happy.” She takes his hand and presses it to her belly, still flat now but not for long.

Delbert's eyes widen as he imagines their children growing inside. It feels like a miracle. “I'm happy. I'm going to be a father,” he breathes.

“You are, and a wonderful one at that. I can tell you're nervous, love, but there's no need to be.”

Delbert thinks of Jim, watching him grow up and trying to help Sarah manage, of Jim's father leaving and the effect it had on the boy, of how well he turned out anyway. Delbert can only be better than that for his children. Finally, he meets Amelia's eyes and grins ear to ear.

 

Amelia keeps sailing, though Delbert imagines (hopes) it's without her usual aerial antics now. As much as he worries, he never tries to stop her – mostly because he knows he doesn't stand a chance. He can only wait at home and pray she doesn't go into labor and give birth on some distant planet or in the middle of space without him. The thought of missing such an important moment haunts him.

By some miracle, it doesn't happen. She's home between voyages, sitting in her favorite comfy chair with a mug of a tea and a book one night when she makes a startled sound.

Delbert is at her side in less than an instant, demanding to know what's wrong.

“Today's the day, doctor,” she says, a hand on her belly.

Delbert is near panic as he flies around the house collecting their things to take to the hospital, Amelia's calm, amused chuckles following him from room to room.

Then they get to the hospital and it's...not as frenzied or exciting as Delbert expected. There's so much waiting involved. Amelia is assigned a room, examined, and the two of them are left alone until the process is further along.

Anxiety still craws through Delbert's veins; he doesn't understand how his wife is so calm when she's the one experiencing it. Even when contractions hit, she simply grips his hand lightly and breathes through them. Eventually, she starts answering Delbert's continued questions of how she's doing and if she's in much pain with tense, bitten-off negatives that don't so much betray her answers as tell him he should stop vocalizing his worry quite so much.

Hours pass before the real doctors decide Amelia is ready to push, and Delbert stands awkwardly beside her holding her hand as the professionals take their places. He'd started to calm during the intervening time, but now his heart races again as he listens to them instruct his wife on what to do.

“Amelia, darling–” he begins, voice trembling.

“Shut it!” Amelia snaps, face tense as she pushes out words between pants. “If you can't deal with this, you can wait outside. That's fine. I can't hold you together and do this at the same time.”

“I...” Delbert glances one of the doctor, who raises an eyebrow.

“Delbert!” Amelia says sharply, then cries out wordlessly as a particularly strong contraction hits.

Delbert blinks rapidly, feeling suddenly light-headed. “I think I'll step out,” he says. “I'm sorry.” He kisses her fingers before letting go. “I always was the squeamish type, I'm afraid. I'll see you soon.”

“Won't be long now,” the doctor reassures him.

Amelia barely seems to notice as Delbert leaves the room. The door snaps closed behind him, and he leans against it with a sigh of relief, then winces as he hears his wife groaning inside. He wishes he was strong enough to stay, but she's right. She doesn't need him as a distraction right now.

He catches his breath and wanders down the hall to a waiting room. Two pairs of anxious eyes look up at him, and he smiles weakly at Jim and Sarah, who have come to share in the joyous event.

“Well?” Jim asks expectantly.

Delbert drops into a chair beside him and rubs at his eyes. “It's not over yet,” he sighs. “I couldn't stay.”

“That happens,” Sarah reassures him. “Jim's father wasn't in the room with me, and I did just fine.”

Delbert doesn't have the heart to tell her that might have been a precursor to something. Guilt stabs at him again, and he's about to psych himself up to return when there's the sound of someone clearing their throat and he looks up.

“Dr. Doppler?” a nurse says.

Delbert stands automatically, heart tripping over itself. “Yes?”

The nurse smiles. “Would you like to come back and meet your children?”

“It's all finished? Already?” Delbert feels like he's only been gone a few moments.

“Yes. Your wife is a very impressive lady.”

Delbert can only grin helplessly, knowing how true that is, as he follows the nurse back to Amelia's room.

 

Even before Treasure Planet, Delbert had seen amazing things. Indescribable things, things that made him speechless, things he would never forget. But seeing Amelia in that bed, two pink bundles in her arms, two doctors holding another pink and a blue nearby, this is so much more.

His wife. His children. _His family._

The doctors smile and quietly congratulate him. Delbert automatically thanks them as he steps forward to take his children into his arms. The doctors hand him the blue and pink blanketed forms and step outside, leaving he and his family alone.

Delbert gazes down in amazement. The little girl looks just like Amelia: red hair, pointed ears, stunning blue eyes. And the boy. Delbert can't help but smile, because his son looks just like him. His tiny brown ears are curled in, and they twitch as he cuddles into his blanket. His eyes are closed, but Delbert images they're the same color as his.

Delbert carefully steps closer to the bed and watches Amelia watching their other two daughters, identical to the first save for their blonde and black hair. The look of awe and love on Amelia's face must match his.

Delbert looks at the newborns in his arms again, holding them just a little closer, protectiveness and adoration in every fiber of his being. These children are his to take care of, to insure they grow strong and know how much they're loved.

“Don't cry on them now,” Amelia scolds, but the smile she aims up at him is soft and full of affection.

“Of course not,” Delbert agrees, trying to make the words flippant, but they come out wet. He gently lays his son and daughter in the waiting bassinets and moves to kiss Amelia's forehead “How are you doing, love?”

“Little sore,” Amelia tells him, and she's always been so loath to admit pain that could mean she's literally dying, but she does seem to be all right.

Delbert leans in to gently touch the little girls in her arms. “You did good,” he murmurs. “I'm sorry I wasn't here.”

“Oh, hush.” Amelia cranes her neck, silently asking for a kiss, which he gives unquestioningly. “You're here now. That's what counts, and you're not going anywhere.”

“Absolutely not,” Delbert agrees.


End file.
